Assessing the effectiveness of guided preparation for new venture creation and performance: Theory and practice

Governments in virtually all developed countries subsidise “guided preparation” for entrepreneurial activity. Despite being so widespread, the evidence that this assistance enhances venture performance remains in dispute, primarily because of a lack of consensus over statistical approaches. This paper provides a new — to entrepreneurship scholars-approach, applying it to a programme guiding nascent and new entrepreneurs in Denmark. It concludes that the programme contributes to the survival and size of new ventures, but its impact on growth is less clear. It also finds that impact is sensitive to changing the eligibility criteria of the programme — such as requiring a modest payment from participants or selecting participants according to observable entrepreneurial characteristics.     

Effects of Household Consumption Patterns on CO2 Requirements

In order to evaluate the relation between the consumption pattern of various household types and their CO₂ requirements, we combine input-output tables energy flow matrices, CO₂ emissions factors, and national consumer survey statistics into an integrated modelling framework, and relate differences in household types to differences in private consumption and again to differences in CO₂ emissions. We identify household characteristics with a significant influence on CO₂ emissions. Comparing our results with those of other studies reveals that national differences in climate and population density cause differences in the contribution to CO₂ emissions. Finally, national differences in income and expenditure elasticities of both energy and CO₂ are due to differences in the disparity in CO₂ intensities amongst commodities and to the model's assumptions on foreign technology.     

Distributional Implications of Environmental Taxation in Denmark

Environmental taxes have been introduced in many countries. However, few countries have reached the level of environmental taxation that is seen in Denmark today. This paper analyses the individual taxes as well as the combination of all these taxes and duties related to environmental concerns, including taxes on heating, transport fuels, electricity, water, waste, plastic bags, registration of cars, annual car use and pesticides. The distributional effect of taxes is examined in relation to household income, socio‐economic class, residential location and family status. The shifting of the tax structure from high marginal income tax to consumption‐based taxes, especially environmental taxes, might have distributional impacts that have not been considered part of the tax policy. The results suggest that in Denmark taxes on petrol and registration duties for cars are progressive, whereas most other environmental taxes are regressive, especially the green taxes on water, retail containers and CO2 emissions.     

The Relative Importance of Interfirm Relationships and Knowledge Transfer for New Product Development Success*

The relationship and network literature has primarily focused on particular partner types, for example, buyer–supplier relationships or competitor interaction. This article explores the nature and relative importance of different types of interfirm relationships for new product development (NPD) success. The underlying premise of the study is that not only the type of interfirm relationships but also the combination of relationships are important for NPD performance. The interaction with a specific type of partner is expected to influence innovative performance by means of appropriate knowledge transfer. Varying needs for external knowledge, and thus types of relationships, are observed depending on the particular stages in the NPD process, the character of the knowledge base of the firm, and the industrial conditions. The absorption of external knowledge is discussed using the degree of redundancy in knowledge, which is defined as the degree of overlap in the knowledge base of the sender and the recipient of knowledge. Hence, the degree of redundancy has direct implications for the ease and, hence, use of knowledge shared with an external partner. The article is based on data from the Know for Innovation survey on innovative activities among European firms, which was carried out in 2000 in seven European countries covering five industries. The article explores the extent of use of external relationships in collaborative product development and finds that customers are involved more frequently in joint development efforts. Second, the industry association of the most important relationship is studied, and the results show that firms tend to partner with firms from their own industry. The danger in this approach is that firms from their own industry tend to contribute similar knowledge, which ultimately may endanger the creation of new knowledge and therefore more radical product developments. The analyses combine the finding that relationships with customers are used most frequently at both early and late stages of the product development process, with a second and more contradictory finding that at the same time customer relationships have a negative impact on innovative success. Moreover, the combination of customers, with both universities and competitors, has a significant negative effect on innovative performance. The potential causes of this apparent paradox can be narrowed down to two: (1) the average customer may be unable to articulate needs for advanced technology‐based products; and (2) the average customer may be unable to conceptualize ideas beyond the realm of his or her own experience. Based on this evidence the article cautions product development managers to think explicitly about what certain customers can contribute with and, more importantly, to match this contribution directly with their own sense of what direction product development should go in the future. Finally, the role of complementary as well as supplementary knowledge is investigated for innovative success finding that sharing of supplementary knowledge with external partners in NPD leads to a positive effect on innovative performance. The article is concluded by a discussion of the implication of this finding for building knowledge within the firm and for selecting external partners for NPD.     

Mediating Identity: A Study of Media Influence on Organizational Identity Construction in a Celebrity Firm

This paper reports a longitudinal field study on the effects of positive media coverage on the reconstruction of organizational identity. The study highlights how intense positive coverage – to the point of turning an organization into a ‘celebrity’– influences both the way members understand their organization (sensemaking effect) and the gratification they derive from its positive representation (self‐enhancement effect). Our findings suggest that positive media representations foster members' alignment around an emergent new understanding of what their organization is. Over time, however, celebrity may ‘captivate’ members' organizational identity beliefs and understandings, and impede further identity work as media persist in the replication of representations that differ from members' experienced reality, but are too appealing to them to be publicly contradicted.     

Sustainable leisure life modes and rural welfare economy. The case of the Randers Fjord area,Denmark

As increasing attention has been paid to rural tourism as a specific form of tourism development, so too has the scope of research into tourism in rural areas become more diverse. Typically, studies focus primarily upon the economic developmental contribution of rural tourism, although a significant amount of work has been undertaken on the consequences of rural tourism development and attitudes/motivations on the part of visitors and/or local communities. However, no attempt has yet been made to integrate studies of both visitors and local communities within the framework of rural tourism development policy. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap in the literature. Drawing on a study of tourism in the Randers Fjord, a relatively underdeveloped area of rural Denmark, it identifies and analyses three groups of tourists characterised by life modes: (i) traditionalists, (ii) peace seekers and (iii) adventurers. In each case, expectations, behaviour and future needs are revealed through qualitative interviews. The predominant (traditionalist) life mode of tourists, it is argued, closely matches that of the area's residents. This, the paper suggests, presents significant barriers to the development and enhancement of tourism, as do the prevailing economic structures and employment patterns. Thus, tourism development policy should take into account both tourists' and locals' life modes in order to progress towards sustainable rural tourism development. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How Muslim Women in The Netherlands Negotiate Discrimination During Leisure Activities

Qualitative research about discrimination encountered by Muslim women in The Netherlands who are participating in leisure activities in public spaces shows that perceived discrimination is part of everyday life. This is especially true for women who wear the veil because their visible head covering signals their “otherness” to people. The discriminatory actions encountered by women in this sample are typically of a nonviolent nature and mostly comprise unpleasant looks and negative remarks. Perceived discrimination often does not prevent the women from participating in leisure activities. Instead, they actively negotiate discrimination by applying various coping strategies, including justification, direct confrontation, accepting the discrimination, and modifying leisure behavior.     

Diversity among Norwegian Boards of Directors: Does a Quota for Women Improve Firm Performance?

Exploiting the Norwegian boards of directors’ quota reform of 2003, this study evaluates the impact of increased diversity on firm performance. Applying difference-in-difference approaches to accounting data covering the period 2003–07, the paper compares the return on assets for non-finance public limited companies (PLCs) and ordinary limited companies (LTDs), whereof only the former were affected by the reform. The impact of the reform on firm performance is negligible. Neither changed return on total assets (ROA) nor changed operating revenues and cost can be attributed to the reform. However, following the reform PLCs have to a larger extent accumulated capital, financed by debt or by a combination of debt and own capital.